Buffer mechanism for car doors



Jan. 17, 1933. A. w. CLARKE BUFFER MECHANISM FOR CAR DOORS Filed Aug. 4,1951 iwi Patented Jan. 17, 1933 UNI-TED STATES PATENT oFFlcE ALLEN W.CLARKE, OF RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T AMERICAN' CAR AND l A`FO'U'NDBY COMPANY, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y., .A CORPORATION OF N'EW JERSEY:BUFFER nummer: ron can noons .Application led August 4, 1931. SerialNo. 555,021.

This invention relates to new and useful ,Y

, views, the inventlon is shown as applied to a improvements in slidingdoors for railway cars and has particular` reference to a buiermechanism which Will prevent complete closing of the car doors when thecar is being companying drawing in which shunted or shifted or when thebrakes are suddenly applied. I

More particularly, the present invention contemplates a device forholding sliding p doors ofk railway cars in ,a predetermined positionrelative to the door opening, that is, the provision of a device forretaining car doors in either fully or partially o ened po sitions, saiddevice being manual y releasable to effect complete closing of the door.

Another object of this invention is the pro vision of a door stop andactuator therefor which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture andstrong and durable in operation.

Other objects and advantages oi' this invention will be apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the ac- Figure l isa front view showin a portion of a ear body and car door slida ly con?nected to the body; the view showing the present invention applied inposition.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on 'the line 2 2,

Fi 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3,

Fig. 1.

. Fig. 4 is a side view of the operating lever `for the device, the viewbeing taken on the line4-4, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing a portion ofthe door cast-.

p ing with the plunger in elevated position.

Fig. 6 shows a side elevation of a modified form of the invention,applied to a car door shown in section, the view being taken on the line6 6, Fig. 7

Fig. 7 is a broken front elevation of the modified form of the inventionshown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectionalview taken on the line 8 8, Fig. 7,- and Fi 9 is asectional view onthe line 9 9, rig. i.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which similarcharacters of reference designate similar parts in the several railwaycar having a sliding door 2 adapted to close an opening in a car body,the door being provided with hangers 4,. secured as hereinafter morelfully described, and carrying the rollers 6 'which engage a track 8.The track 8 is secured to the car body adjacent the upper edge of thedoor'opening by suitable means which in the present instance includebrackets indicated generally at B, of which two are shown; the twobrackets shown being those supporting the door stops or dogs 10. Othervbrackets, of course, may be provided for supporting the track 8 and theymay be of any preferred or desired construction, the brackets B shownherein being arranged in such a position that the dogs 10 may functionto retain the door 2 in partially opened position.

The brackets B each include.a base or at taching portion l2 by which thebrackets may be secured to the car `body' by means of suitl ablefasteners 14:, side 'Walls 16 and a. front clearly shwn in Figs. 2 and3. The dogs 10 are pivoted adjacent one end whereby they normally dependfrom the bracket into the path of movement of the door 2, as shownclearly in Fig. l, and the pivot ends of the dogs are rounded to provideheels 26 adapted to contact with theadjacent side walls 16 of thebrackets B whereby the latter serve as abutments to limit the downwardpivotal movement of the dogs and hence tio-position .y

the latter.

The upper corner of the door 2 is cut away to receive a door casting,indicated generally at C, with which the dogs 10 are adapted to Contact,as presently to be described, the cast# ing C comprising a tubularhousing 28 provided with substantially parallel extensions 30 and 32,-respectively, forming attaching l@ 2 i 1,se4,eea

flanges overlying the front and rear surfaces of the door 2 (see Fig. 3)and secured to said door by means of suitable fasteners such as thebolts 34, extension 32 being recessed, as shown at 36, to provide ahousing for the adjacent door hanger 4. The door hanger 4, justmentioned, is provided with a base 38 receiving an adjusting screw 40which bears against the lower edge 42 of vthe housing member 36 andwhich may be adjusted to adjust the height of the door 2, as will beapparent.

The housing 28 is shown as substantially rectangular in section, thoughthis is merely by way of example, and receives a plunger 44 having its uper edge beveled as at 46 and provided wit a lug 48 which projectsthrough a slot 52 formed in the front wall of the housing 28 and towhich the upper end of an actuating rod or lever 54 is pivote by meansof a pin 56.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the lever rod 54 isarranged on the outer sutfuaoe of the door 2 and its lower end is pivo60 o a bell crank lever L pivoted as at 62 to a bracket 64 secured tothe outer face of the door 2. The bracket 64 is provided with a flangedextension 66 at its lower end which defines a guide-way 68 for arm 70 ofbell crank L, said arm 70 being referably U shaped to define a handleand aving an integral lug 72 at its lower end arranged in the guide-way68.

Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, illustrate a modified form of the invention inwhich the lever rod 74 is concealedland, as shown clearly in Fig.,

9, the edge of t e door 2 is vertically recessed as at 76 and said edgeof the door is covered by a channel shaped nosing strip 77, the recess76 receiving the rod 74. The lower end of the rod 74 extends into ametal housing 78 inset in the door as shown clearly in Fig. 6, and saidlower end is arranged between and pivotally connected as at 80 to spacedarms 82 of a lever 84, the latter including a long arm 86 pivotallyconnected for movement by a horizontal axis as shown at 88 to a handlebracket 90 secured to the door. As will be apparent from the drawing,the arm 86 is recessed in order to lit the handle 90 when the arm 86 isshifted on its pivot to raise the short arm 82 of the lever. The upperend of rod 74 extends through an opening 92 in casting C and isconnected to theplunger 44 in any suitable or desired manner. In theinstance shown the rod extends into and tlireadedly engages the plunger44, but this is merely by way of example, as obviously the rod 74 may beconnected in any suitable manner to the plunger 44.

In use, with the door in fully opened position, the dogs 10 depend intothe path of movement of the door in such a position as to preventcomplete closing of the door. If

connected as at 58 to the short :arm

for` any reason the door should be moved from fully opened positiontowards a closed position it will be apparent that the dogs 10 willengage the inner wall of the housing 44 in a manner such as shown in thedotted lines in Fig. 1 and thus prevent the door from being completelyclosed. To close the door with the device shown in Fig. 1, the lever arm70 is shifted from its normal position on the pivot 62 to lift the shortarm 60 of the bell crank thereby lifting the rod 54 and consequentlyelevating or lifting the plunger 44 to lift the dog 10 out of engagementwith its casting C, t e lever arm 70 furnishing a handle for shiftingthe door after the dog 10 has been released. With the device illustratedin Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, the lever arm 86 is shifted on itshorizontal pivot 88 to lift rod 74 and to ur e the plunger 44 upwardlyto disengage t e dog 10 from its engagement with the housing. e

From the above description it is believed that the construction andoperation of the device of the resent invention will be fully apparentto t ose skilled in the art. The drawing is for illustrative purposesonly and it is to be understood that various changes in the form and proortions of the device may be made within tA e scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A buffer mechanism for car doors comrising a pivoted element normallyarranged in the path of movement of the door and with which the doorcontacts when moved in the closing direction whereby to limit closingmovement of the door, plunger means carried by the door and normallyarranged out of contacting relation with the pivoted element, and alever for shifting the plunger means to release the engagement of saidpivoted element and door to permit further closing movement of saiddoor.

2. In a railway car having a side doorway, a door adapted to close thedoorway, a track on which said floor is slidably sup rted, an a bracketsecured to the car a jacent the doorway and to which the said track issecured, the combination of a door buer mechanism comprising a dogpivotally' supported by said bracket and normally arranged 1n the pathof movement of the door, said dog being so arranged in said bracket asto contact therewith to normally position said dog,

a door casting with which said dog contacts when the door is moved inthe closing direction to limit closing movement of the door, a plungerin said casting, and lever actuated means secured to the door forshifting the plunger in the casting into contacting relation with thedog whereby to shift the dog out of the path of movement of the door.

3. In a railway car having a side doorway and a door adapted to closesaid doorway,

and a track on which said door is sldably supported, the combination ofmans limiting movement of'the door in the closing direction comprising atrack supporting bracket secured to the car adjacent the doorway, a

p pivot in said bracket, and a dog mounted on the pivot, said pivotbeing arranged in said bracket in a position such that the pivot end ofsaid dog is adapted to contact with a bracket part to retain said dog innormal position.

4. A buffer mechanism for sliding doors comprising a pivotally mounteddog normally extending into the path of movement of the door, a doorcasting secured to the door and With which said dog contacts when thedoor is moved in the closing direction, said door having the free edgethereof recessed, a leverv rod arranged in the recess, a plungerarranged in said casting and normally out of contacting relation withthe dog, said plunger being connected to said lever rod, a nosing forthe free edge of said door covering the recess, and a pivotally mountedlever to which the lower end of the lever rod is pivotally connected foractuating the lever rod and said plunger whereby the latter urges thedog out of engagement with the door casting to permit full closingmovement of the door.

5. In a car door buffer mechanism, a track supporting bracket comprisinga base, side Walls and a front Wall, a partition in said bracket betweensaid side Walls and parallel to the front Wall, a pivot pin supported bysaid .partition and front wall adjacent one of said side walls, and adog mounted on the pivot pin, the pivot end of said dog being curved todefine a heel portion adapted to contact with the adjacent side wall tolimit pivotal movement of the dog in one direction.

6. In a car door butler mechanism, a dog normally arranged in the pathof movement of the car door, and means pivotally supporting said dogcomprising a track supporting bracket secured to the car and having apivot pin extending through a part thereof, said dog being so formed asto contact with a bracket part whereby it is retained in normalposition.

7. A buffer mechanism for sliding doors comprising a dog arrangedadjacent the door opening and normally projectinginto said opening, abracket to whichthe dog is pivoted in such a manner as to limit pivotalmovement of said dog in the direction of closing movement of the door sothat said dog constitutes an abutment with which the door is adaptedtocontact when moved in the closing dlrection, and manually shiftablemeans on the door adaptedto shift the dog out ofthe path of movement ofthe door to permit complete closing of the latter. v

8. A buffer mechanism for slidin doors comprising a dog normallyextending into the the door and with which the path of movement of thedoor, means pivotall mounting the dog in such a manner as to imitpivotal movement thereof in the general direction of closing movement ofthe door, said means being so formed as to permit free pivotal movementof the dog in the opposite direction, a door castin secured to igcontacts when the door is moved in the closm direction to limit closingmovement of said door, a plunger in said castin normally positioned outof contacting relation with the do and lever actuated means for shiftingthe plmger in the casting to swing the dog on its pivot out of the pathof movement of the door.

9. In a buier mechanism for sliding doors, a buil'er casting comprisinga tubular housing adapted to receive a plunger and provided with spacedattaching flanges adapted to overlie portions of the door, one of saidflanges being recessed to receive a bracket.

10. In combination with a horizontally slidable door, safety means forpreventing complete closing of said door comprising a dog normallyextending into the pathl of movement of the door, means pivotallysupporting the dog in such a manner as to prevent pivotal movementthereof in the general direction of closing movement of the door wherebysaid dog constitutes an abutment with which the door contactswhen movedin the closing direction, and lever operated means on the door adaptedto shift the dog out of the path of movement of the door.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ALLEN CLARKE.

